Hesse
Hesse names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Hesse or HESSEN, GRAND DUCHY OF
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
or HESSEN, GRAND DUCHY OF, formerly known as Hessen- Darmstadt, an independent state of south Germany, consisting of sundry distinct portions; area, 2,966 square miles; pop. about 1,350,000. Of the two main portions, one (forming the provinces of Rheinhessen on the left, and Starkenburg on the right bank of the Rhine) lies immediately to the N. of Baden, the other, Oberhessen (Upper Hesse), is entirely inclosed by the Prussian province of Hessen-Nassau. Much of the soil, particularly in the provinces of Starkenburg and Rheinhessen, is remarkably fertile. The vine forms a most important object object of culture, and fruit is very abundant. Principal towns, Darmstadt, the capital (pop. about 88,000); Mainz, Giessen, Bingen, and Worms. About two-thirds of the inhabitants are Protestants. The grand-duchy of Hesse originated in the division of the landgraviate of Hesse in 1567 (see HESSE). In 1806 the landgraviate was erected by Napoleon into a grand-duchy with an enlarged territory. It was reduced to its present limits in 1866, as the result of the Austro-Prussian War in which Hessen was on the side of Austria. In 1871 Hessen became part of the German Empire. In the fall of 1918 the then reigning grand-duke, Ernst Ludwig, was, together with all the other German ness, 2-3.5; sp. gr. 8.3-8.6. Composirulers, dethroned and Hessen became a republic.
Hesse or HESSEN (hes'sen)
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
or HESSEN (hes'sen), anciently a territory of Germany; mainly between the Neckar, Rhine, Main, Lahn, and Fulda rivers. tunes it was ruled by the landgrave Philip I., who succeeded in 1509, and at his death in 1567 divided his dominions among his four sons. The death of two of these, however, reunited the territories in part, so that there remained only the two main divisions of Hesse-Cassel and Hesse-Darmstadt, the latter now known simply as Hesse.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's caught Hesse at the moment of transition in 1921, noting that Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig had been "dethroned" in the autumn of 1918 and that Hessen had become a republic. That republic (the People's State of Hesse) lasted until the Nazi period; after 1945 the American occupation authorities merged it with most of the old Prussian province of Hessen-Nassau to create the much larger federal state of Hesse, with Wiesbaden rather than Darmstadt as its capital. Rheinhessen on the left bank of the Rhine, with Mainz and Worms, was detached and now belongs to Rhineland-Palatinate. Today's Hesse is roughly 8,150 square miles with about 6.3 million people, and its economic centre is Frankfurt, a city Collier's did not even list among the grand duchy's principal towns and now home to the European Central Bank.
Written for this edition, 2026.